Tears of a Blind Woman
by Gai-Sol
Summary: Neji went to a normal highschool, with normal people and with a normal life. What he didn't know was that he'll meet an extraordinary woman. Neji x Tenten
1. Chapter 1

It was after classes and Neji was walking calmly towards the swimming pool. In a few minutes, he would have to suffer another training session with girls giggling from every direction.

As he walked, a slow tune echoed from one of the music room. Curiosity overcame him and he peeped through the small opening of the door.

It was a girl, and she was playing a violin. She had brown hair, tightly held in two tight buns on both sides. Her slender figure contrasted against the dimly lit room. Neji did not noticed, but somehow, the tune had attracted him towards her. Within minutes, he was inside the room.

The girl stopped.

"Who are you?"

Neji became fully aware of where he was. He putted his hand on his pockets, a cool act for his kind, as a last resort, to make up for the embarrassing scene.

"No one, in particular"

The girl turned towards him and Neji did not expect to see such beautiful brown orbs. But the thing was…it was full of tears.

"I don't believe you." She plainly said, holding the violin tightly. Neji frowned at her, but it did not affect the girl.

"Are you a newcomer?" He finally asked, feeling sorry for the girl.

"Yes. My name is Tenten." She said, looking down.

"Well, mine's Neji. Glad to meet you" Neji said, holding out a hand. But Tenten did not get it. Rather, she bent down and took a slim metal pole that was lying soundlessly beside her.

"Where are you?" She asked, her left hand clutched on her pole and her right hand, feeling for Neji. He did not expect it, yet somehow, he knew…

she was… blind.


	2. Chapter 2

Neji took the liberty to take Tenten around the campus and forgot all about his training. He was so interested in Tenten, as she gave him the feeling of belongingness, and there was something in her that made him feel like he'd known her all his life.

"Tenten?"

"Hnn?"

"Where do you live?"

Tenten stopped and bit her lip. Neji thought it was cute. After sometime, Tenten spoke up;

"At Lotus Street. The one with the white roof"

"Ah I see"

As Neji walked, he wondered why Tenten studied at a public high school, as Lotus Street was the lane where the well-off people lived. He also wondered why Tenten clutch his violin as if her life depended on it.

* * *

"Neji! Coach wanted to see you!" A freshman called, panting, appearing before Neji. 

"Oh, Damn! I forgot" Neji said, slapping his forehead. In an instant, he was holding Tenten by the wrist and jogging towards the swimming pool. By the time he got there, the Coach was already fuming mad, and the rest of the team was up in the showers.

"Hyuuga Neji, if you are determined to win this Saturday's game, you will abide by my schedule" The coach said austerely. Neji's head was bowed low in respect.

"Yes sir."

The coach sighed, "Twenty laps, then you go."

"Yes sir"

"I won't be around now. I trust that you would do it honestly."

"Yes sir"

The coach left and Neji helped Tenten sit by the bleachers. He whispered to her to wait. Then, a group of girls entered the building to watch. Neji tried not to roll his eyes at them for the sake of Tenten…even if she could not see him.

Actually, for the first time, he did not mind the giggle squad. All thanks to that blind girl sitting on the bleacher.

* * *

**Author's usual notices: **

**Weee! Short post again... Curses writer's block More to come (-)  
**

**Anyways, Much appreciation to Neji x Tenten, Harukakanata and Kawaii-Hisui for those reviews, really helped me!**

**Next chappie might take long as school had already started giving out projects and homeworks :c**

******Cheers,**

******_Gai-Sol_ ****  
**


	3. Chapter 3

Neji stood in front of a big split-leveled house, watching Tenten knock at the house. They were suddenly greeted by a boy, much older than they were. He gave Neji an impression of a Tenten-grown-much-older-and-is-a-boy look. He almost smiled at that thought.

"Who's this?" He asked, dirtily eyeing Neji.

"Oh, this is Hyuuga Neji-San… A friend of mine" Tenten replied positively.

"And you invited him?" The boy asked her tersely.

Tenten could only nod.

"Alright Hyuuga, you may enter, but I don't like that look of yours. I'll be watching you" The boy replied, after a period of silence.

The boy helped Tenten inside, and Neji followed, head bowed down and all. Neji carried Tenten's violin.

Inside the house, Neji did not expect the house to be glorious. The floor itself was clothed in red carpet, and the modern cream-colored daybed welcomed them warmly. The boy left them and Tenten sat on the daybed. She patted the daybed, signaling Neji to sit. A woman suddenly appeared and offered them a cup of tea. Tenten did not get any, so in respect, Neji didn't do so too.

"Ten, I must remind you that you are expected in an hour and a half. Kasuki will arrive in half an hour to fetch you" She said. Tenten gave her a nod.

"Thank you auntie" She muttered. Then, her aunt left.

"Tenten, go up and get dressed" The boy appeared again. Tenten nodded, and took her metal pole.

"So, Neji…is it? What do you usually do?" Asked the boy, looking directly at Neji.

"Hmm…I swim, I'm also skilled in archery" Neji replied, as he examined the high ceiling room.

"Archery huh? So is Tenten." The boy said, staring at Neji as if he was a piece of vermin.

"Sir, Might I join Tenten?" Neji asked courageously. Somehow, the image of the girl made him more comfortable.

A reluctant, but nonetheless positive look from the boy made him bow and smile.

"But I'm warning you. If ever lay a wayward hand on her…Well, just say your evening prayers" He added, his voice as lethal as a snake's venom.

"Thank you sir."

"Oh, you may call me Garin."

Neji wondered why Garin was named, well…Garin. But before he could think more, a clear sounding cough was enough to make Tenten announce her presence.

Neji looked at Tenten, clothed in black and white, emphasizing her eyes and her brown hair, which was pulled back to a braid. Her curves were undeniably there, and to tell you the truth, Neji almost fell in love with her.

But a guy like Hyuuga? Pfft…yeah right!

…Right?


	4. Chapter 4

"Ten, here, I'll help you" Her usual seatmate, an American named Gail said holding the wrist of Tenten, as she opened the door of the car.

"Wait, my violin!" Tenten said, rooting herself to the place.

"Oh, right. Thanks." Gail said as Kasuki handed her the violin "Here you go"

"Thank you" Tenten said, holding firmly to her violin as Gail led the way to their seat.

The place was a grand one, rich, purple carpets and all. Gail, sighed, looking at Tenten who was staring at one place without blinking. She bit her lip as she remembered the story of Tenten's whole life.

-

Tenten nervously practiced her piece for a while. As this was the premier night of their play, everything needs to be flawless. Years of violin practice with the ensemble helped her, along with her newest muse…

Neji.

It was the first time her heart skipped a bit, whenever she heard the voice of Neji. The feeling for her was esoteric, as she had never experienced this powerful emotion.

Love.

Hard to admit it, but yes. Tenten caught herself falling in love for a man she barely new. She tried hard not to show, as she wanted to put up a façade of a strong-willed woman. But then…She could not force herself to stop having a crush on Neji-San.

Such feelings were banned to her. For she was not an ordinary girl, traveling around the world, meeting new adoptive parents. She was required not to have attachments to people. Her maestro taught this to her long ago, when she used to cry herself to tears, years ago, having been separated to her parents as long as she could remember. Therefore, she found it hard to cope with her fast-changing hormones.

She fixed her hair as the audience piled in. Then, she quickly raised her chin to look smart, as her dear aunt told her. _Act smart_, she remembered. Incidentally, she caught a whiff of everyone's perfume.

An expensive lady-like smell. That would have to be her aunt.

A simple eau de toilet. Her adoptive-brother, Garin.

A breezy-smelling cologne. It would have to be him…Neji.

_You just wait Hyuuga-San. I promise you, you'll be amazed_. Tenten told herself as the conducter tapped his conducting stick.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, the premier of Tenten's great performance that night was the talk of the school. As Neji feared, the boys kept surrounding her on the way to school and asking her to go out with them. Neji couldn't blame them…Tenten was a pretty girl.

As his face came to view, all the guys stopped talking loudly and whispered hurriedly before leaving Tenten alone.

"Goodness Neji" Tenten said in a joking manner. "Are you that harsh to them?"

"No" Neji said quite passively, helping Tenten with her things. "How d'you know it was me, anyway?"

It was the first time that Neji saw Tenten smile and blush at the same time.

"I just know" And with that, she walked ahead of them and into the school with less help from her pole.

-

Neji abandoned his doodling in his notebook and stared outside. He saw Tenten's hair and she was holding a bow and some arrows. He could almost laugh at the scene, but being a cold person, he could not do so.

Surprisingly, Tenten hit the bullseye and was given a pat in a back by the archery coach.

"Hyuuga" Someone tapped him from behind. "Hey, yo."

"What?" He answered irritably.

"Who's that brown-haired chick you're always around with?" He asked in a tone that would've suggested that he wanted to ask Tenten out.

"Listen" He retorted angrily. "That girl is my best friend and if you ever lay as much as a finger on her, you'll see your own dead body in no time"

"Chill, chill" The boy replied, holding up his hands in mock defeat.

Neji turned around and faced the teacher, his mind racing a thousand questions, like "Why the hell am I defending Tenten?" Or "How would I treat Tenten?" or even, "Will she kiss me?"

He was really confused now, and the heavy homework concerning the conservation of Energy didn't help either.

* * *

**A/N: Much, much thanks to my dearest reviewers: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz, Hatake Kashi, aQuA rHaPsOdY, Byakugen vs Sharingan, Psycho Spaghetti, animefreak-shinobi, harukakanata, Kawaii-Hisui and to Gensomaden-Saiyuki. **

**You are the only people that kept me going with this story. Hope you like it! So sorry it's still short  
**

**Cheers,**

**_Gai-Sol_ **


	6. Chapter 6

"Here, I brought this for you" Neji said, giving Tenten a bag of Sushi. He sat in front of her and started eating his lunch.

"Thank you!" She exclaimed, letting her hair fall on the particular guy.

"No problem" Neji replied, actually smiling. "I thought you would enjoy that"

Tenten could not reply, as she had stuffed her mouth with the food Neji gave her.

The bell rang, a few minutes after, and Neji kindly carried Tenten's books. Then, a picture fell out of her chemistry book.

Neji picked it up carefully and delicately. He examined the picture and quite got lost on it. It was a picture of a young woman. Her hair was down and short; it only fell to her shoulders. A young girl that was unmistakably Tenten stood beside the woman, her hand flashing a peace sign. They were happy, and Tenten was still not blind here.

"Neji" Tenten said, frantically tugging his sleeves. "We're gonna be late!"

"Oh," Neji said, broken from trance. "Let's go"

The two had to walk fast, or else they'd be five minutes late.

--

They separated at fifth period. Neji was going to advance algebra while Tenten sped to music class. He took the liberty of keeping the picture.

"The variable would be then transmuted…" recited their teacher, who, by the looks of it, memorized the thick book by heart.

_Her mother was so young, _Neji thought._ She looked innocent_

Then, a black speck caught Neji's eyes. He looked closer at the picture and found that the black speck was a human-like figure.

"Hyuuga!" The teacher said, and Neji quickly sat up.

"Yes Ma'am?"

"If x y then?"

Neji hacked his brains. "x-y will result to a positive number"

The teacher seemed satisfied, as she continued to recite her lesson in monotone. He stared back at the picture, feeling rather angry, as the picture was blurred, and no more trace of the mystery man was given.

A deadly feeling crept up to him, and he made a mental note to himself to ask Tenten about her relatives.

* * *

**I love your idea releina I might do it. And thanks a lot to Hyuuga Tenten - Nara Ino and aQuA rHaPsOdY for the reviews...still sorry this was again, a short one...**

**Cheers**

**-_ Gai-Sol_ **


	7. Chapter 7

"Sir," addressed Neji as he faced Tenten's aunt and brother. "if it is possible, may I take Tenten— "

"Like on a date?" retorted Garin. "Ha. But that is not even close to possible!"

"Garin!" His aunt scolded. "You are not his legal guardian…"

"…and therefore not allowed to make decisions for Tenten" Garin continued lazily and by heart. "I know, I know"

Tenten's stern aunt suddenly turned to Neji with a friendly face. She observed the man, and finding no fault (except for the eyes… and who cares because Tenten can't see) with him, or his manner of speaking, nodded.

"It may result to a bitter ending, you Hyuuga" The aunt warned. "I shall have Kasuki drive both of you. Now"

"But Ma'am…" reasoned Neji. "Wouldn't it be nice for Tenten to inhale fresh air? A walk to the beach won't be that far"

"I allowed you to take her" the aunt said, the menace cleverly hidden in her tone. "Don't make me change my mind"

Neji nodded in defeat. Then, and surprisingly, his date went running down the stairs, ready for the beach. Smiling, she hugged her aunt.

"Thank you!" She kept on repeating.

--

The sound of the waves crashing on the shore was something that never fails to calm down Neji. The sight of Tenten enjoying the sand beside him made him even more at peace. Her smile, as if nothing but sand existed, was too much for him.

And he tried to stop himself from saying those three words.

"Hey Tenten?" he distracted himself.

"Yes?" She stopped her childish frolicking and turned to him

"Would you like to stay like this, forever?"

"Whoa. Mighty question." Tenten smiled. "Stay with you forever? If I'm allowed, yes"

Neji melted.


End file.
